Recently the vice-chancellors of some of Australia’s oldest and most distinguished universities have appeared before the Royal Commission into antisemitism.
By and large they tended to cut rather sad and pathetic figures.
They looked like weak, feeble and ineffectual people.
They admitted that Jewish students and staff at their universities had been monstered by the vicious and aggressive Jew-hating pro-Palestinians.
But all they offered were weasel words— ‘unacceptable’ being the most common.
But actually, taking any action against such behaviour they would never have the nerve to tackle.
All this embarrassment made me think about this odd title of ‘vice-chancellor.’
The root word ‘chancellor’ came into English from Norman French sometime after 1066.
Behind it is a post classical Latin word cancellarius which was the tile given to the Chancellor of William the Conqueror.
(So they used the Latin form, not the Old French form of the word.)
It basically meant someone whose role it was to conduct business on behalf of another.
Then it was broadened to refer to any high ranking official.
In universities it came to be applied to head of a university—most often a purely symbolic role, rather than one exercising real power.
That power was exercised (supposed on behalf of the chancellor) by the ‘vice-chancellor’.
The Oxford helpfully explains: ‘In the universities of Oxford and Cambridge the role of Vice-Chancellor was formerly one to which the head of a college was appointed for a limited time but is now a separate executive post. In other universities it is typically carried out by the executive head of the university.’
And since Australian universities have now switched from being institutions of learning and civilisation to being mere businesses, the role of the ‘vice-chancellor’ has become one of maximising profits!
Tonight I will be a panellist on The Steve Price Show (hosted by Jaimie Rogers in Steve's absence) on Sky News -- 6pm AEST.
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* My latest book is called Pray Like This. To look at prayer I do what I do in these Ozword columns: I go through the most famous prayer in the world (The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father) and unpack it word by word—each chapter being a short word-study on a key word in that prayer. There is a total of 21 words studies in all. To find out more, here’s a link to the publisher’s website (where you can buy a copy if you wish): Pray Like This – matthiasmedia.com.au
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* My book "Defending the Gospel" is now in a second, fully revised, edition. You can find it here: Defending the Gospel – matthiasmedia.com.au
* If you're looking for my recent book "Flash Jim" you'll find it here -- Flash Jim, The astonis
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
